An education game kids love to play
Drawize is a multiplayer online drawing game similar to Pictionary. One player is selected as an artist; he is drawing a word, while the rest try to guess it as fast as possible.
Students already enjoy playing Drawize, and often play it with friends in school.
Since drawing and doodling are some of the rare activities proven to boost memory and improve focus (read more), we are happy our game can help make kids interested in drawing.
We encourage teachers to use Drawize in the classroom - it can help engage students and make learning fun for everyone - making it a great education game for your classroom!
Learn by playing
Students are more likely to remember what is learned if they actively participate in the class, and playing a game is a great way to make them actively involved.
Drawize can be used for different subjects, including foreign languages and vocabulary practicing, and it is an excellent activity for the blended learning approach. It works great both for online or in-classroom teaching when all students have an online device.
How to use Drawize to play Pictionary as an educational game
The teacher can use our Private room feature in combination with custom words. Here is how to get started in seconds:
- Visit drawize.com in your Web browser
- Click Private rooms on Drawize home screen
- Click Create new room - room will be created
- Click the gear icon next to your room code - this will open room settings
-
Enable Custom words for your room, and enter words related to the topic you are working on.
For example:
- Vocabulary list for Language class
- Animals you were talking about in nature class
- List of internal organs when teaching human anatomy
- Math terms or formulas in science classes
- Or anything else related to the topic you are working on in the class
(If using Drawize just for fun, you can skip this step altogether and let students play with the full vocabulary. No worries, all words in our default database are appropriate for classroom use.)
- Direct your students to drawize.com and share the room code with them, or just send them a direct room link
- The game will automatically select a different student to be an artist for each round.
Am I, as a teacher, supposed to draw
In the default setup, everyone in the room will get their turn drawing. However, we were asked by some teachers to add an option to enable only the teacher to draw or to exclude the teacher from drawing and let only students be artists.
We added a few options to support the requested modes:
- Only owner draws - enable this option in the room settings if you would like for you as a teacher (room owner) to be the only person who will draw. When enabled, students will never be selected as an artist.
- Owner never draw - enable this option if you don't want to draw at all. When enabled, the room owner will never be selected as an artist but can guess in any round.
- Spectator mode - not a room setting; instead, it is an option to enter the room if you do not want to participate in the game but would like to watch the gameplay. To enter the room as a spectator, click the eye icon instead of the Play button in the rooms list.
How to control the game duration
You control the game duration by setting the Rounds per game and Round duration in the room settings. Please note that a game will not have exactly [Rounds per game X Round duration] seconds duration because round can last shorter if everyone has guessed correctly. On the other hand, some time is spent between rounds waiting for the artist to choose the word, which adds time to the total game duration.
Some teachers use Drawize at the end of the class, and they asked us to change the number of rounds during the game - so the game duration can match the end of the class as close as possible. We added the option in the room info pane - you open it during the gameplay by clicking the i icon on the left edge of the game screen, under the drawing canvas. The room owner will see the option to change the number of rounds in the current game.
Is it possible to play without ads?
Yes, many teachers asked us for a solution to play in a private room without ads, and we understand how ads can be annoying, so we made two plans specifically targeting private rooms gameplay. You can buy a one-time plan if you are looking to organize just one event, or use a subscription if you are going to organize games regularly in your classroom - all players playing in your rooms will have an ad-free experience. Please click here to read our blog post on ad-free Drawize for more info.
Speaking of ad-free Drawize, we run an affiliate program where you can earn commission by recommending ad-free Drawize plans. If interested, please learn more in our post on Drawize Affiliate program.
Drawize Teams
If your classroom counts more than 12 members, you should consider Drawize Teams.
This is an option designed specifically with bigger groups in mind. Players are grouped into teams, and each team has an artist in each round. That way, all players will get their turn drawing sooner, and the whole game is more dynamic than classic Drawize when played in the big group.
Also, players in one team collect points together - allowing players to learn the importance of cooperation and teamwork.
Please click here to learn more about Drawize Teams
Have any ideas or suggestions?
We wish you a lot of fun while using Drawize in the classroom, being it as an educational game or just as a fun activity for your students. If you have any ideas or suggestions on making Drawize even better, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at support@drawize.com.